NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney Co. will close about 40 stores this year and cut approximately 2,250 jobs, as it tries to recover from a disastrous attempt to reshape its brand.

Most of the stores, located in malls around the country, will close by April 4. The Plano, Texas, company currently runs about 1,060 stores.

All employees at closing stores will receive career training class, including help writing resumes and filling out applications. The company says that some are eligible to receive separation benefits.

The announcement Thursday comes a day after J.C. Penney reported a rise in sales during the critical holiday shopping season.

No stores in Kansas or Missouri will close.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita Democrat is sponsoring a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage by $3 dollars by 2017.

Rep. Jim Ward’s proposal would raise the wage by $1 — to $8.25 an hour— on July 1. The wage would then go up to $1 a year during the next two years.

Ward says a full-time worker should not be living below the poverty line in Kansas. Currently a full-time worker making minimum wage earns about $15,000 a year, slightly above the poverty line for a family of two.

The Wichita Eagle reports the state last raised its minimum wage in 2009. Democrats have tried unsuccessfully since then to raise the wage.

Gov. Sam Brownback’s office said he would not comment on potential bills.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nearly 900,000 people who paid fines for red-light violations in Missouri can apply for partial refunds as part of a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed against American Traffic Solutions, which operated the cameras in 27 Missouri cities. The settlement is for violations between 2005 and November 2014.
A claims administrator recently sent out postcard notices, alerting people they can recover a cash payment of 20 percent of any fine they paid and providing information to apply for a refund. Those who wish to preserve their right to sue individually can opt out.
The Kansas City Star reports a response is due by Feb. 28, and a court hearing is scheduled March 13 to consider the final settlement. More information is available at 1-866-681-9151.

DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a key Senate committee Thursday, setting up a floor debate next week as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on President Barack Obama to rescind his veto threat.

The Energy and Natural Resources committee moved the bill closer to the floor by a 13-9 vote. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a sponsor on the bill, was the only Democrat to support it.

New energy committee chairman Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, noted the bill has Democratic support and came within one vote of passing the Senate last year.

The Keystone pipeline would carry oil from Canadian tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries. The House will vote on its version of the bill Friday, and is expected to pass it easily.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – The speed limit on portions of Interstate I-70 in Columbia is dropping to 60 mph.

The Missouri Department of Transportation on Thursday announced the former 70 mph speed limit will be reduced for safety on less than 3 miles of the interstate.

The change will occur between I-70 east of the Route 63 connector to east of the Lake of the Woods and St. Charles Road interchange.

Transportation department senior traffic studies specialist John Schaefer says crash data from the past five years shows 70 mph is an unsafe speed for the area.

He says a lower speed limit will improve safety without causing major congestion or delays.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A former Topeka man pleaded guilty this week to Social Security fraud, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a media release.

Brian David White, 43, who now lives in Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of Social Security fraud. In his plea, he admitted that the Social Security Administration paid more than $88,800 in disability benefits after he returned to work and failed to report it to the SSA.

In 2002, the SSA approved White’s application for disability benefits based on an inflammatory arthritis condition that made him unable to work. While receiving benefits, he attended Washburn University in Topeka and obtained a degree in radiologic technology. After earning his degree, he worked as a technician at Holton Community Hospital in Holton, Kan. Later, he began working full-time for the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. He admitted that he intentionally failed to report this work activity to the SSA so that he could obtain disability payments he was no longer entitled to receive.

Sentencing is set for April 6. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison, a fine up to $250,000 and restitution. Grissom commended the office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford for their work on the case.

DETROIT (AP) — Subaru is recalling about 199,000 cars and SUVs for a second time to fix rusty brake lines that can leak fluid and cause longer stopping distances.

The recall covers the 2009 through 2013 Forester, 2008 through 2011 Impreza, and the 2008 through 2014 WRX and WRX-STI models. It affects vehicles in 20 U.S. cold weather states and Washington, D.C., where salt is used to clear roads in the winter.

Subaru says in documents filed with the government that salty water can splash on the brake lines through a gap in the fuel tank protector. That can cause rust and leaks. A recall from last year for the same problem didn’t work due to incomplete repair instructions to dealers.

Dealers will apply a corrosion-fighting wax to a brake line connector.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A new judge will hear the case against a mid-Missouri county prosecutor charged with drunken driving in an accident that injured four people when he reportedly backed his truck into a Columbia bar.

Boone County Judge Gary Oxenhandler on Tuesday was assigned to the case against Moniteau County Prosecuting Attorney Shayne Healea. The 36-year-old Healea is charged with felony leaving the scene of an accident and four counts of second-degree assault. He allegedly backed his pickup truck into a window at

Addison’s in downtown Columbia in October, injuring four people. Police say he drove off and refused a breath-alcohol test when he was found.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports Healea admitted after the accident that he drove his truck into the building but said he didn’t notice the damage.